The 1970s: Foreign companies like Exxon, Texaco, Shell and Gulf control Venezuela’s oil wealth. It does not benefit most Venezuelans, who are poor. The middle-class is small. The rich control the press. Elections are a choice between one party of the rich and another party of the rich. Chavez is a young army officer fighting left-wing guerrillas.

The 1980s: Venezuela has run up huge foreign debts. When the price of oil falls and it cannot pay, the IMF has it push through austerity measures and free-market reforms. That leads to the Caracazo riots and protests of 1989. The government kills between 400 and 3,000. By then Chavez has already founded the Bolivarian Revolution as a cell within the army.

The 1990s: In 1992 Chavez tries to overthrow the government. He fails but becomes a hero. In 1994 he is pardoned and let out of prison.He runs for president, winning in 1998.

The 2000s: He remains in office throughout despite an American-backed coup in 2002, a management-led strike at the oil company the same year and a recall election in 2004. He wins the recall and goes on to win the presidential election in 2006 and 2012. Only cancer stops him, killing him in 2013 after a two-year battle.

To help the poor he pushed through land reform. He provided cheap food and petrol. He built schools, medical clinics and housing. Cuba sent teachers, doctors and nurses in exchange for oil.

Venezuela is now more equal in terms of income than America.

Democracy: Chavez set up thousands of neighbourhood councils to give people a greater say. They now feel less cut off from the government, vote in greater numbers and most say Venezuela under Chavez has become more democratic.

Human Rights Watch, however, said in 2012 that Chavez and his men have threatened and punished judges, news reporters and rights defenders who oppose him.

Chavez sold cheap oil on easy terms to countries like Honduras, Cuba and Jamaica. He sold cheap heating oil to 500,000 poor Americans through Citgo, the American branch of the Venezuelan oil company. He visited the South Bronx in 2005 and later gave millions to its grass-roots organizations.

In 2009 he helped to found the Bank of the South, South America’s answer to the World Bank.

He was in bed with the FARC, the left-wing guerrillas of Colombia. He let them use Venezuela as a base and sold them guns for cocaine. Venezuela has long been part of the drug pipeline out of Colombia.

I am puzzled why on a site like this devoted to discussing issues of racism you neglected to mention anything about President Hugo Chavez’s public acknowledgement of his African roots:

“Racism is very characteristic of imperialism and capitalism. Hate against me has a lot to do with racism. Because of my big mouth and curly hair. And I’m so proud to have this mouth and this hair, because it is African.” – Hugo Chavez, September 21, 2005

This is something President Barack Obama, to my knowledge, has never publicly acknowledged in the same way. Not saying he has to or should do. But it clearly highlights the differences in awareness of both.

I’d regard this as significant. But obviously you don’t? Now why is that…?

I had that quote in an earlier draft but when it came time to cut I kept his deeds, not his words. I also cut what he said about Katrina. Unlike Obama and Bush, he thought the American government’s reaction was racist.

Chavez’s death could possible affect stability in the Caribbean because he had set up a fund “PetroCaribe” – which allowed Caribbean governments to purchase cheap oil. — hopefully Maduro (or who ever wins the election) won’t make changes

for what I can judge from getting news from Guadeloupe Trade Union, they are hoping it won’t. http://ugtg.org/

Chavez’s death could possible affect stability in the Caribbean because he had set up a fund “PetroCaribe” – which allowed Caribbean governments to purchase cheap oil. — hopefully Maduro (or who ever wins the election) won’t make changes

yes, it seems alot of countries are nervous…his death also affects social programs he was funding in the Caribbean…so right now, many people are courting and hoping Maduro wins the election.

the Jamaican government sent over a large contigent of gov. officials to show support with Venezuela — this will be interesting to follow because the way it stands now, gas is already expensive in Jamaica and I don’t know how well our economy can withstand anymore inflation in energy costs.

What hypocracy about the coup…Chavez did his own coup..you cant get all screamy about the cia if he did the same thing himself…

I wish social programs were the only thing that Chavez did, I would think he is fine….

Everyone was trying to buck the dollar, what ridiculousness to atribute that to him…and they havent bucked it yet

Oil? my god he was doing big business all the time with USA with his oil…not only that, Brazil just discovered huge reserves…this paranoia the USA is going to invade South America for oil is just the ploy Chavez used all the time to cover his own agenda

Its not nationalising the oil,plenty have done it in South America, Brazil has, and Morales hung out with Chavez and Fidel and then brought out his military in Bolivia to put his flag over Perobras, the Brazilian oil company, just to have a photo opp to look like Fidel did back in his time…serious hype BS ..its not nationalising the oil , its making it a political agenda…while these fools scream the USA is going to invade South America, Farc is raping Brazil and he supported them…Brazil is just a fuking cash cow for Farc

And you cant have this discusion if you dont really get into his political agenda, and that means having to look at his huge ties with Fidel and his agenda…and how flawed and failed it is

You cant have this discusion unless you really look at how him and Fidel sream American imperialists, but, Chavez engaged in some of the most imperialistic behaviour in South America during his time

Abagond, you didnt even mention the suitcases of money he sent to his political allies in the area,something that would be condemned to high heaven if the USA did it…

this is a bus line that my family uses, we dont have a car, and the other one , into its base in centro, is now a crack cocaine den

these bus attacks went on for thirty days and there was a wave before and Sao Paulo had an even bigger wave, all co ordinated

this is part of the legacy that Farc , with its support from Hugo Chavez, brought to Brazil , and where I live. I watched this grow over the years, I saw the reports of the huge drug gangs hooked up with Farc and the evidence over and over that Chavez was supporting them, that doesnt mean he was directing them, he was supporting them

and guess what, all this flooding of Brazil with cocaine, which Farc has its hands in , they arent the only ones but they are big players, well , it made Brazil the number one crack cocaine consumor in the world

so he contributes to Farc, which means he is interferring in Colombias affairs, with his support of Farc, he has contributed to the flooding of Brazil’s markets with arms and cocaine and the drug wars , he is sending suitcases of cash to various political canditates, including Kirshnir in Argentina, and Ortega in Nicaragua,

and this is ok? to be that blatently imperialistic? to contrubute to that much death and havoc ? Sounds like the states to me….

Political pundits in this United Empire of ours railed against what Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez refers to as “Socialism for the 21st century.” Moreover, Socialism appears to be quite a dirty word in this country. Under a Socialist system, Pres. Chavez, who is of mixed heritage and this biological known fact is frowned upon by the lighter skin Venezuelan elites. However, Pres. Chavez decreased the poverty rate, stabilized the wealth distribution, provided more access to higher education, where the PEOPLE decide how firms are ran and how to further serve his fellow citizens and has place his trust in the common PEOPLE as opposed to a few thousand light skin technocrats as they do within this Empire of ours. Hell ….., you’d think that after 300 years, we as a nation would’ve already evolved into a fantastic utopia if we were in fact a true democracy.

Democracy, the supposed form of government we have here, nor the sociopathic, corporate, thug culture of Wall Street or any US President actually has worked towards the goal of eradicating homelessness, poverty and simply leveling the playing for the common PEOPLE in Amerikkka.

Personally, I believe that the time has arrived quite some time ago for a fresh look at Socialist policies. I sincerely hope and pray that the PEOPLE of this country quit slumbering towards a fascist society with White folks at the helm, willing and ready to intentionally steer the entire country into another economic ditch, simply because the glitterati elites thought it would be fun to do so.

I, honestley was ignorant about this man. I didn’t know anything about him except that he was President of Venuzuela. And was dying of cancer. With that being said. I noticed that there were quite a few black blog spots that were RIP in his memory. I then wanted to know why were black people interested in him? He did many honorable things for his people. The fact that he was popular with the poor and unfortunate of his nation gave me pause. That he attempted to redistribute wealth is somewhat honorable in my opinion. The fact that he wanted to eradicate illiteracy is also honorable. The fact that he was about getting health care for the people is honorable in my estimation as well. I didn’t know that he had an African bloodline. So racial bloodlines come into play in this political scenario as well. I kind of reminds me of Obama’s racial heritage scenario. The few things I’ve learned about this global figure and Abagond’s post and the other commenters would have otherwise gone ignored. But I have been enlightened this afternoon. Thank for this pertinent information Abagond and commenters.

Mali is a former French colony and France was the only European government willing to help the Mali government when Timbuktu was taken over by the Tuaregs with the help of foreign fighters Al Queda fighters (who then double-crossed the Tuaregs and took over Timbuktu, destroying ancient temples and making the peoples lives miserable with Sharia law)

The question should be: “how come America and other European governments weren’t willing to help Mali? — maybe northern Mali ‘s oil fields aren’t large enough, so therefore, they are low on the scale of importance.

I do not think France’s intervention has much to do with helping the Mali. I don’t even think that oils and mineral are at stake, this time. It’s about filling the void left by fall of Kaddafi’s regime and securing the strategic area that is the Sahel, Kaddafi’s former playground. With Libya in chaos, Algeria at odds with France and the near future of the West’s traditional allies (Egypt and Tunisia) uncertain, they just could not allow the area to become a sanctuary for Jihadists.

I’m glad to see the North of Mali rid of AQIM and its satellites, but trust me, France is not much better. Its behavior in its former colonies is quite similar to the behavior of the USA in South America: parasitic, exploitive and to the detriment of the populations. And when I see the composition of the current Malian government, installed thanks to France’s Trojan Horses in the ECOWAS (Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast and Blaise Compaoré of Burkina), I’m quite pessimistic about the future of the subregion.

On a sidenote, Muammar Kaddafi had many things in common with Chavez. For the West he was a caricatural, egomaniac, terrorist dictator. For the South, he was a progressive anti-imperialist leader .

@ Abagond

This could be a good topic for a post: those leaders from the South who are considered heroes in the 3rd World but viewed as evil dictators in the West.

“Dahoman X
@ Linda
I do not think France’s intervention has much to do with helping the Mali. I don’t even think that oils and mineral are at stake, this time. It’s about filling the void left by fall of Kaddafi’s regime and securing the strategic area that is the Sahel, Kaddafi’s former playground.”

Linda says,

That would make sense since Kaddafi was the stabilizing force in that region. I didn’t think anything good would come out of the US helping the “rebels” ..considering they had no idea what groups made up the rebel forces…

Kaddafi kept saying that those rebels were aligned with Al Queda…it seems he may have been right…Libya still can’t get it’s sh’t together because now it’s back to Ethnic clans fighting for power.

The question was: “what the happened to the African Union?”….Mali would have a been a great opportunity for the African Union to show that they are still committed to forming a strong, unified alliance that can handle the Continents internal problems without European interference…

[…] Hugo Chávez Frías (1954-2013) was the democratically elected president of Venezuela for 14 years, from 1999 to 2013. He used the country's oil wealth to help the poor. By the numbers: The change d… […]

The African union, also known on the continent as “the Syndicate of the Heads of States”, is notorious for its inefficiency. Like many of our weak institutions, it is only worth what its Chairman is worth. Under Alpha Oumar Konaré (2003- 2008) it lived up to its ideals; under Jean Ping (product of the Françafrique and former right-handman of Omar Bongo, the more zealous supporter of France’s interests in Africa) it returned to its lethargy.

As for the ECOWAS, which was delegated the handling of the Mali Crisis, it was presided by Alassane Ouattara, which accessed to power thanks to the French army in 2011. Blaise Compaore (the murderer of Thomas sankara) was the mediator, through his minister of foreign affairs…

“…Why are the Europeans now in Mail of all places? I’ll bet my bottom dollar Kwamla knows the answer…

Thats very perceptive of you diaryofanegress!

In fact I do have some information on this:

If you read the subtitles you realize how impressive a speech this Belgian MP is making. Facts and information about the invasion of Mali and other African countries all on the pretext of Islamic Terrorist threats? When really it is about neo-colonialisation and capture of resources – This time Uranium before China does!

Further….

“…Whatever is reported by the mainstream media, the goal of this new war is no other than stripping yet another country of its natural resources by securing the access of international corporations to do it. What is being done now in Mali through bombs and bullets is being done to Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain by means of debt enslavement…”

“…To raise other more detailed issues like race issues can happen if Abagond expands the 500 word limit. Barring that, there is a comment section where commenters can help add to what a 500 word post will miss. It should be taken for granted that these 500 word posts of Abagond’s will miss information because the posts are brief…”

It would be far more informative if your contributions focused more on your own views as a commentator than as an unelected spokesperson and apologist for Abagond!

I’d be interested to hear as a proclaimed Black person yourself why you think the race issue is not a priority in a blog with such extensive coverage of racism issues such as this?

By the way, please know that many of the commenters here and on my blog are “shells” hired by the CIA, FBI and Homeland Security. Their job is to detract, interrupt and divide. But knowing you, I’m sure you already sensed that.

Whenever I get that “sensation” come over me whilst reading some of the comments, I just ignore them. Beware, my luv of mysterious emails from people you do not know. I got 6 last week when I wrote my post on “Darkness Matters”.

Considering that I am researching the use of Small Modular Reactors for small 3rd world countries like mine, the whole idea of a “resource war” in Mali , seemed odd. Especially for Uranium. Experts seem to agree:

Besides the French are scaling down on nuclear due to the whole Fukushima scare (and are paying dearly for it). if they do decide to ramp up and build new ones again, they probably will be GEN IV Fast Breeder reactors that get 20x more energy from nuclear waste,like their SupeFenix Reactor.

This is all just so sad to me….it’s such a wave of information and it seems very hopeless…How could these ppl (with the small amount of time we have here on Earth) sleep at night with such violently soulless aspirations of World domination???

All this shifting to mechanical warfare and world leaders who fight for the ppl are ‘dying’ of ‘cancer’?

Why are we (as USA citizens) made to care about the Vatican and the Pope? Hell, the EU in general. We are set to believe whatever is said to us about why we should hate the leaders of the darker persuasion, in all of our ignorance.

It seems like a super hero cartoon plot except that the superheros are on the side of the enemy.

A lot of people rave about the health care in marxist regimes…Chavez brought hundreds of Cuban doctors to Venezuela…

this link really takes an ominous look at the reality of health care for poor Cubans

I live in a country, Brazil with its own socialised medical program called “SUS (feel free to kick in about this , Linda, since you know aabout medicine and know things in Brazil that I know)”

there are lots of reports about really scary conditions at times with SUS thoughout the country, over crowded conditions, scary equipment upkeep, a doctor was just indited in a SUS clinic for turning off machines so that patients could die, there are strikes that gum up the works

If Cuba actualy looks that bad as the link shows, if Brazil who has their social health system in place but has these kinds of problems, do people actualy think things are really pristine with Chavez’s health system?

I am totaly in favor of social programs that give free health care to citizens, but, these reports are scary and exactly the kind of social health care that I would be afraid of

Its really interesting that people are willing to give Chavez support and eulogies just for health care that could be ominous, a hot lunch ,and an education that is going to be warped with marxist drek as soon as you can read, just because he can say fire brand rhetoric against the USA…

I mean lets see, he has been destabalising and imperialistic in South America, he has sent suitcases of money to political allies in other countries in the region, supported bloody marxist revolutionary groups in Colombia against the government , and those groups have wrecked havoc on Brazil , flooding their market with cocaine and arms and chaos and deaths that rival Iraq,he has done all he can to eliminate the opisition, while I fully admit he is democraticly elected, anyone who thinks its ok to eliminate oponents , close down media stations against him, push his terms to way beyond two ( whichis one of the great things about limits, leaders have to leave eventualy in a healthy situation), is really blind to who Chavez really is ,his infrastucture is in dire straights with food shortages sometimes and lots of electric blackouts and soaring crime rates…

and they say he was worth about 1 or 2 billion, they say Castro is rich also….amazing the railing against capatalism and people getting rich when these very leaders are getting rich…i dont care about getting rich, its the hypocracy that is so crappy

I mean, i just cant get behind a leader like that…he is as bad as Bush and Chenney…the real truth is, its all about power …it always was and always will be.

This is probably something lost on most people commenting here. The Belgian MP was indeed most courageous for standing up in Parliament (the equivalent of the US Senate) and saying those things. But you would not find this reported in the mainstream media. And you certainly won’t find any reporting of this in the “Dumbed down” US media system.

I have to confess here. I would really struggle to maintain any sense of awareness of what is actually going on in the world if I lived in the US. I have come to realise the majority of the people living there are intentionally and purposefully kept Dumbed Down and IGNORANT! But the worst and most hideous part of this is they are Co-opted into maintaining and enforcing this perpetual state of ignorance on themselves!!! It truly is a “Matrix” type of illusion…

Of course not everyone is like this but they truly have their work cut out trying to, like Neo, get through to the masses…

Something else I should probably mention as it has been reflected in comments here…

Nuclear Energy is by no means a viable, clean and efficient source of energy. In fact this is just one of many LIES perpetuated by the global media system. France has invested heavily, unlike other EU countries – Germany – in Nuclear power plant technology. At 90% of its electricity comes from this. So of course it is France’s interest to maintain and secure the biggest threat (Uranium) to its profitable power supply.

Which is also the only reason Nuclear energy is pushed as a global adoption energy strategy. It is already regulated, priced and controlled by Western Corporate Nations just like Coal, Oil, Gas and now Wind and Solar power are. But we are told these are the only viable and practical sources of Energy or Power? Again…another LIE!

There are and have been many Alternative developed sources/Devices of FREE ENERGY which have taken place. Developed and produced REAL sources of practically Free Energy enough to supply ALL the world’s power needs. However, many of these sources/devices and inventions have been suppressed or their authors bought off or killed.

One example of a source of Free Energy knowledge, application and information that has already begun internationally circulated is that from the “Keshe Foundation”. It comes from an Iranian Nuclear Physicist who has opted to share this knowledge (Unlike the US Government) with the rest of the world.

“…By the way, please know that many of the commenters here and on my blog are “shells” hired by the CIA, FBI and Homeland Security. Their job is to detract, interrupt and divide. But knowing you, I’m sure you already sensed that…

Truthbetold…This is indeed a common practise employed by many countries (not just the US) in the face of growing internet awareness. Its useful to bring this to everyone’s attention as I sure there will or have been people on this (Abagond’s) blog who play this role. Do any names come to mind? I’ve yet to decisively conclude on any yet!!!

Thanks for raising the concern and keep on raising the levels of consciousness and awareness because as we both know and realise: “Darkness Matters”.!

To really give the complete picture of Chavez, you have to understand his “Bolivarian revolution” , and how he tried to push his political agenda out side of Venezuela…A great example of both left and right bs wrapped into one little picture would be what happened in Honduras:

for anyone who doesnt like to read links, lets look at some of the information from the guardian peice I brought in:

“The varied testimonies I have heard reveal that the co-operation between Venezuela and the guerrillas in transporting cocaine by land, air and sea is both extensive and systematic. Venezuela is also supplying arms to the guerrillas, offering them the protection of their armed forces in the field, and providing them with legal immunity de facto as they go about their giant illegal business.

Thirty per cent of the 600 tons of cocaine smuggled from Colombia each year goes through Venezuela. Most of that 30 per cent ends up in Europe, with Spain and Portugal being the principal ports of entry. The drug’s value on European streets is some £7.5bn a year.

The infrastructure that Venezuela provides for the cocaine business has expanded dramatically over the past five years of Chávez’s presidency, according to intelligence sources. Chávez’s decision to expel the US Drug Enforcement Administration from his country in 2005 was celebrated both by Farc and drug lords in the conventional cartels with whom they sometimes work. According to Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante, a Colombian kingpin caught by the police last February, ‘Venezuela is the temple of drug trafficking”

” The deserters I interviewed said that not only did the Venezuelan authorities provide armed protection to at least four permanent guerrilla camps inside their country, they turned a blind eye to bomb-making factories and bomber training programmes going on inside Farc camps. Rafael – tall and lithe, with the sculptured facial features of the classic Latin American ‘guerrillero’ – said he was trained in Venezuela to participate in a series of bomb attacks in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital.

Co-operation between the Colombian guerrillas and the Venezuelan government extended, Rafael said, to the sale of arms by Chávez’s military to Farc; to the supply of Venezuelan ID cards to regular guerrilla fighters and of Venezuelan passports to the guerrilla leaders so they were able to travel to Cuba and Europe; and also to a reciprocal understanding whereby Farc gave military training to the Bolivarian Forces of Liberation, a peculiar paramilitary group created by the Chávez government purportedly for the purpose of defending the motherland in case of American invasion”
“

The stuff about FARC mainly comes from The Economist, which is careful to list his sins, and the CIA World Factbook. B.R. has also provided links, not just from the New York Times but even Al Jazeera, a generally pro-Chavez source..

It cannot be overlooked because Venezuela’s murder rate is through the roof, the fifth highest in the world. And it has nearly doubled under Chavez. I do not know for a fact that drugs are behind that but I think it likely.

Also, since I listed the good he has done for the poor in America, I should also point out his part in the drug trade – since that affects them too.

Thank God I do not have to live through what B.R. is right now, but New York at the height of the Crack Era is burned into my brain.

The Castro thing. The Economist did that too. It is guilt by association. And depends on the demonization of Castro. It is trying to call Chavez a communist even though he is a socialist, a Marxist “at worst”. Fox News tries to make those things dirty words but they are not to me.

“…Hugo Chavez Depicted As Tyrant for Challenging Western Oil Domination…”

He was also accused of being anti-democratic, even though he won elections which former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and his global election monitoring centre have declared “the best in the world.”

Chavez deservedly came under attack in the West — including from Noam Chomsky — for failing to order the release of a judge imprisoned for allowing a corrupt banker to flee Venezuela with millions of dollars.

But it’s striking to note that the West routinely ignores more serious democratic failings on the part of its allies, including torture and execution in full-fledged dictatorships like Saudi Arabia.

What actually appears to have infuriated the western establishment was Chavez’s audacity in challenging — and scoring some victories against — western dominance of the world economy

Yes, Abagond, I just feel I am taking what you wrote and expanding on it…and, Im reffering to various links, some might be more right leaning, some more balanced. The thing is, this information is out there on various other news sources also, I just may have brought in ones that are more right leaning…I try to avoid Fox, but, I brought a very incriminating article about Chavez from Al Jazeera on another thread…its definitly out there…and I followed this on the news in real time, so, I know where to look…but, the “Real Cuba” link is a pretty devastating look at Fidel’s cuba…I didnt expect the health care system there to be that bad , I have seen reports in Brazil of their social health care system that are frightening, but Im not saying it unusable…but, I think real social health care should be health care you dont have to be afraid of…

That is a good question about “Marxist” versus “communist”

Most all the countries in South America (uribe the exception) have elected left leaning leaders …some were very inclined towards Chavez’s Bolivarian revolution, some others like Chile and Brazil , are less as radicle as Chavez wanted, but , Lula was a good freind of chavez , but, he could play George Bush also..and that is why I think his aproach was beter than Chavez…Brrazil took incredible steps with Lula, and I think Brazil is much better off than Venezuela…

I seperate the one kind of socialism aproach from Chavez and his alignment with Fidel and then Morales, Correa, Kirshner, Ortega as very aligned with Chavez, with another socialistic aproach that isnt running around using anti American rants as their political agenda , examples of this more open aproach with places like Brazil and Chile.Colombia, especialy under Uribe at that time, was aligned with Bush, and he would be more closer to a concervative

For me that is the crux, if they have a socialistic aproach , but dont need to rant at the USA and capatalism, and make it the boogy man, then that is the more healthy aproach . Its hyper predatory capatalism that is as bad as blatent communism, Im just not against all capatalism

All these countries with left leaning leaders elected in South America , upgraded their social programs… and , all over the world in China,India, many other places, there was an uplift in these countries prosperity, using capatalistic market aproaches , and , then , in Brazil for example, they put some good social programs in place…I actualy want capatalism with a concience and I wish the USa would get off its uptightness about soical programms, pushed on the public by Republican dogma, and mix capatalism with more social progams

By the way, Abagond, I lived in wild whooly New Yord from 78 until 86, and, it was worse than the smaller town I live in now , but, the things Im talking about with the bus burnings and shots at police, are very violent and terrorise us.But, living near any large drug traficing area in Rio or Sao Paulo or some places in the Northeast, are probably worse than New York, for sure there are more deaths. And, it is just a fact though that this coke/crack /violence arms increase is a very real thing I have followed, and my little city used to have very little influence by this crack arms violence, but, sure enough, as the Brazil organised crime gangs hooked up with Farc and coke started absolutly flooding the market, it seemed all over Brazil, violence and cocaine started saturating everywhere , in a very quantifiable way.

In my opinion, the Venezuelan murder rate has less to do with drugs than other things…the coke is being funneled down to Brazil (those routes to Europe, like they said in that article also go through Brazil in a big way) and the gangs are fighting over the territory and are fighting the police..Im not 100 percent sure that Venezuela has this kind of huge organised drug gang territorial disputes…maybe because the Farc is hooked up with the military in Venezuela..its less a gang thing…that is more an opinion than based on facts, but I just havent seen the info about Venezuelan gang drug wars like there are in Brazil

I just want to clarify, I get no pleasure Chavez has died, I never wanted him assasinated, the coup against him was horrible (but, he did one himself), and I never would call him a dictator, I know he was elected, but, I do question some of his methods with his oponents that an article I brought in relates to..
I hope his social programs stick, and, I really hope there is no violence in Venezuela in the aftermath of his death

My biggest thing I dont like about him was the instability he fanned in the region, screaming about American Imperialism and he is practicing it himself…as well as , of course, his support of Farc and how that has flooded Brazil with coke/crack and arms and how that is decimating Brazilian society now…there is a lot of dirt and death behind Farc, but, make no mistake, there is a lot of the same in Colombia in general, with the USA finger prints on some of it

I just think its misleading to try to make him out like a hero and noble leader of the people….he was interested in power, they say he died worth about a billion or two, and, with that or with out that, I hold him in the same reguard as George Bush and Dick Chenney, they all used rhetoric and dogma to gain weath and power.

the whole story should be told and that is why Im presenting what I know to be true of Hugo Chavez

BR, I do want to Thank You for bringing necessary balance to this post because I do believe that both sides of a topic should be explored (ying and yang) — but thanks to the US media, Chavez’s negative dirt is ALWAYS aired more than anything else — it does exist so it shouldn’t be ignored but he has also had a positive impact and that shouldn’t be ignored either.

As I mentioned, I prefer to focus on how Chavez’s death will affect the Caribbean countries, like Jamaica because no matter what, he brought about change through the Petrocaribe agreement (which replaced the Caracas Agreement)and that had needed short-term benefits — which to me, both helped and hurt the island.

Under the Petrocaribe oil agreement, “it’s members can purchase up to 50% of their oil imports at market value, and pay for the remainder through a 17-25 year term”, with interest rates between 1 – 2%, which also depends on the price of oil – if it goes up or down.

To me: agreeing to buy (finance) “oil on credit” is sort of crazy because this deferred payment translates as another “debt” carried by Jamaica’s economy and it doesn’t inspire the Jamaican government to Really look at alternative fuel choices for the island.

and it hurts Venezuela’s economy too since its “uncollected revenue” for them and they are facing their own inflation and economic issues.

But that being said, these terms were better for Jamaica than their previous oil import deals with OPEC members, Mexico, and Trinidad — now 2/3 of Jamaica’s crude oil comes from Venezuela and according to Jamaican economists “a withdrawal of the PetroCaribe deal could be catastrophic for Jamaica.”

If the agreement is discontinued, Jamaica would have to pay an additional $600 million dollars a year – up front in US dollars – for oil (something Jamaica is in no position to do right now) In the past, Jamaica’s problem with oil imports was that they could not generate enough US dollars to pay for the oil (up front) — the Petrocaribe agreement helped to reduce that problem.

I remember that during the Venezuelan presidential election last year, Henrique Capriles (opposition to Chavez) said he would “scrap the Petrocaribe agreement, if he defeated Hugo Chavez” and that he would spend the money on social programs in Venezuela …(which is understandable since everyone is in self- preservation mode right now)

but I feel as though Capriles specifically called out Jamaica as a “friend that Chavez has to pay for” because Chavez financed the building of the Bolivar cultural centre in Kingston (Simon Bolivar had spent time in exile in Jamaica 1814) and other projects.

and he (Capriles) already stated he has No interest in just changing the terms of the agreement with Jamaica (like how he is willing to do with Uruguay, Argentina and other CARICOM members) — instead he would just cancel Jamaica’s agreement period. (and Guyana better pray that Maduro wins also)

If Chavez only had his social programs, and his projects of giving discounts on oil and giving it away, even at the prospect of hurting his own oil economy , and his infrastucture not functioning well, I would have no problem with him at all…

With his blatent ties he had to Castro, his ties to his ideaology, his strong arm tactics with his suitcases of money to his political allies as well as his very real ties he had to the violent drug dealing kidnapping thug marxist gang the Farc, his hypocracy and causing havoc in South America, is troubling

Im interested in your take on Honduros and Zelaya..I only know about it because you know he holed up in the Brazilian embassy for a month and they talked about it a lot down here for that reason

For me, both the USA and Chavez tactics were on display. Im not happy with the USA aproach , but, I really dont know what I would have done. But, you also see the Chavez bolivarian formula on display, use a popular platform to get votes for your agenda and then change the constituiton so you can hold office much longer

Is that really ok? that troubles me, that one leader in a democracy can manipulate a constitution to hold office much longer. I respect Lula so much for not running more terms

The biggest problem with Chavez and his cronies is the absolute hypocracy at screaming bloody murder about the USA and calling them imperialists, when they are doing the same thing

The USA didnt kill anybody in South America in the dictatorships, they just supported the brutal crackdowns and murders and tortures. They trained militaries, the same way the so called revolutionaries trained in Cuba, China and the Soviet Union, Ive seen many many interviews with ex “revolutionaries” that testifies to this in a big way…and they were fighting for a seriously flawed ideaology, most of them are admited marxists , and idolised Che and wanted a Che style revolution, which basicly didnt succeed because most of the people, even hating the military crackdowns, didnt want communism and a revolution

Yet, in most of South America, they have made the USA the boogy man, blaming it on all their problems and on the violence that really was done by their own fellow citizens, and , was played out in some cases decades before, like in Brazil, they had a communist revolution in the early thirties, that was defeated, and people were tortured and Getulio Vargas had a military coup

Chavez, hooking up with Castro and pushing an ideaology that is marxist, being imperialistic in his own right, and, giving arms and money to violent people like Farc and supporting their death and destruction, only makes him the same as anything the USA did

About the American media, Im scouring it and the comments to see if anyone got it right…I really havent seen anything that aludes to his Farc hookups, and how it affects Brazil, but if you google “farc pcc” “farc beiramar” “farc brazil amazon””chavez farc reyes notebood” etc, there are page after page after pageof information

Americans have no idea of what is going on the same way South Americans dont really have the truth straight about the USA and the cold war

and, Lula is freinds with Chavez and his party the PT has ideaological ties to the Farc, so, the media for the most part wont take it all the way except for a few excellent jornalists, and that is how I get some of the deeper between the lines truth about it

and, the funny thing is, under Dilma, who I dont hate at all, they sent the military up in the favelas to bust a bunch of pot dealers and if you saw the Topa de Elite film, you know they still have portable torture and people get killed by the authorities much more than ever in the military dicatatorship…all in the drug wars…which I detest by the way, it is the major hypocracy on all sides..marijuana should be legal

The real big discusion about this and the elephant in the room is the ideaologies and the conflict that is really a spill over from the past

You cant really seperate Chavez from that, you have to really look at marxism versus capitalism, and , I pick capitalism, with a social concience

How people can stand the dogmad robotic cliched flawed rhetoric, and the blatent truth about sweeping mandates from these ideaologies that kill millions and millions of people, is beyond me, but, I think hyper predatory capatalism can be beat from within to bring about capitalism with a concience…the truth is, in Brazil for example, they could have beat the dictatorship from within, the threat of violent communist che revolution drove the dictatorships to really crack down and hurt a lot of people

And, I have no objections what so ever at not trusting Americans and the days of American dominance and telling people what to do in the Caribean and Central and South America are over, thank gawd

I have no objections they turned down Bush and his free trade agreement he tried to push on the Americas, by all means reject bad business .

What is strange is for Chavez and his cronies and ideaological supportors to take an OAS meeting and make it an issue to accept Fidel into the fold…with so many problems facing the Americas, this ideaological push seems a waste and is typical of the ideaological battles being waged now in these areas

I am all for they created their own organisation, great, no problem with that, but to turn everything into blame the USA as the boogy man and root of all their problems , is just smoke and mirrors to solidify power…that is really what it is about, the power

the pt with Lula is a great example, I really respect Lula, and I have learned to accept the PT and that they actualy helped Brazil, but, before he won, his party was the one that protested the loudest, used the most deviding rhetoric, screamed the hardest about corruption and now, they are embroiled in a corruption scandal and many of them are going to jail…there is a guy, Dirceu, who went to jail in the dictatorship and now will go to jail for corruption, I mean this guy just is a loose cannon, and he wanted to go to Chavez’s funeral…they wouldnt let him, thank gawd

Its all a power game…you bet, its bad on all sides, what was there in Venezuela before Chavez was really bad…and if he had stuck with his countries needs and problems, I could almost admire him, but, I see way too much of the dirt and the result of his destabalising actions in the region and some results right where I live

“BR,
About the American media, Im scouring it and the comments to see if anyone got it right…I really havent seen anything that aludes to his Farc hookups, and how it affects Brazil, but if you google “farc pcc” “farc beiramar” “farc brazil amazon””chavez farc reyes notebood” etc, there are page after page after pageof information”

Linda says,

Just to be clear, I never said that I know “what’s happening in Brazil in relation to FARC” – my response to you was based on this statement you made:

“BR@ first, I have contributed information on here no one else has, like about what Hugo Chavez is really up to, the racism of Sayim Qubt, and Che and Fidel, and about Brazil”

I was not saying that everyone knows what is going on in Brazil – that’s why I said it’s great when you bring in news about Brazil (as you should since you live there)

but to me, it seemed that you were making assumptions just because no one else mention FARC before you did – you were the first and that’s great but it doesn’t mean others are ignorant.

I wanted you to understand that news about ties between “Venezuela/ Chavez and FARC” was not new – because as you know, the US government dislikes Chavez, so Hugo Chavez and his link to FARC is old news that the media have always talked about.

I live in South Florida, so I get news in English and in Spanish. What happens in South America makes the news here – and as you know, Miami is run by the Cubans (who are anti-Fidel and anti-Chavez) and a lot of South Americans live here too — don’t forget that the Escobar /Colombian gangs were causing chaos here back in the 80’s, so news about FARC is not new “news”

(for those who don’t know: Pablo Escobar/ Medellín cartel in Colombia had used FARC for security {paid assassins} but then FARC later turned on Escobar and became rivals in the drug business and took it over after Escobar died)

Remember when Ingrid Betancourt was released – It was big news and made the circuit in the anglo-US cable channels (CNN, FOX, etc)

Her initial capture made the news in the Spanish news media as well and even before her release, her family had “Thanked” Chavez for trying to help with release and giving them proof that she was alive.

Linda, Im reffering to the hook ups with the Brazilian gangs…its really one of the decimatiing things in Brazilian society , but , no one really states and links with authority , in the American medai (except the ocaisnal articles that tell the days news like Beirmar being captured with the Farc) the reality of this hook up and how it affects daily lives in Brazil…that is the perspective I was bringing in here, and many other places I debate these issues

“In 2001 or 2002, Beira-Mar introduced the PCC to the FARC, Colombia’s main guerrilla group. The FARC’s interest in Brazilian organized crime is primarily its arms-for-drugs trade, though the FARC has also provided kidnapping expertise to the PCC, which is thought to be responsible for 75 percent of the kidnapping in Sao Paulo. Logan says there is also evidence the PCC obtains guns from Paraguay’s organized crime groups”

Here is a better article and that Paraguyay group has been linked with Farc also. this also implicates Fernando Beiramar , from the giant Rio gang, this is proof of all these hookups

Abagond, I wanted to move some links over here from the Chomsky thread, since I think they should be here

Linda, I just wanted to say, the reason why its important for me to bring up Brazil is because, very few people mention that aspect and beleive me, Farc and Chavez arnt dealing coke into Colombia or Venezuela, they are dumping it on the market in Brazil and there are serious consequences because of it

“BR @ Im interested in your take on Honduros and Zelaya..I only know about it because you know he holed up in the Brazilian embassy for a month and they talked about it a lot down here for that reason”

Linda says,

Politics in Honduras (just like Jamaica) is very polarized. Zelaya did make some positive changes that helped the poor; that being said, I tend not to take sides because to me, both parties are corrupt and at the end of the day, the lower class still remain the losers.

Zelaya was “elected” legally and he was “ejected” legally (the word “legal” is always open for interpretation in Honduras) Chavez cut a back-door deal with Pepe Lobos, so that Zelaya could return to Honduras without fear.

To me, the whole thing was a mess. The elite complained about not wanting Zelaya because he would be a “dictator for life” – but because the US didn’t seem to be in a hurry to be friends again (and the money wasn’t rolling in like before the “coup”), all of a sudden, Lobos is kissing Chavez (and your Lula’s) behind.

And as you mentioned, Chavez did play both sides but it doesn’t matter because even with Lobos, nothing has changed: the elite run the country and corruption, crime, and poverty are still high.

I also found it interesting how the US supported Zelaya but then dropped him like a “hot rag” after Lobos stole legally won the election.

I know its widely believed that Chávez’s real interest in Honduras was so he could have his hand in the drug trafficking (from S. America to N. America) to get back at Mexico (Felipe Calderón) and the US … probably…. but he’s not the first to use/ abuse Honduras … the US did it too (remember Iran-Contra Affair) — the drug planes flew out of Honduras

{and notice how the article mentions that the origin of crack cocaine in California was linked back to the Contras, who were based in Honduras}

so as far as I’m concerned…All roads always lead thru Central America. Honduras is a poor country…Even before Chavez came into power, drugs (transportistas) were a problem. Look at Matta in 80’s – he made so much money with Escobar, he even offered to pay off Honduras debts!

Yeah, bro, we get it. It is the commies again. Puplic health care is devil. It provides health care even to those who previously had none. It is so wrong!! We must make it a business and make money out of the sick. Just like in USA.

You obviously do not, despite of your age, remember that US had one of the best public health care systems in the world way back when. It started to crumble when tax cuts were directed to the rich from the 60’s onwards. The guy who discovered cure to the polio worked for public health care and gave his invention away for free because it was right thing to do. Was he a commie bastard? It was Richard Nixon who stated; perhaps this could be a great business. And it became one.

And in USA the health care system has progressed to the new levels: people who have been paying insurances all their lives find out that the insurance company does not pay their medical bills for a reason or another, such as genetic disorder (something that the people did not even know 20-30 years ago) or for any other reason. So not only you have been paying for your insurance in case of medical need, you will not get it when you need it. Because that is good business.

You talk a lot about how commies are ruining your beloved Brazil. Ok. Brazil had right wing governments for decades. It had military juntas. What those did for the poor? We all know that it was during their reign that those favelas were built. Why? Did some commies decide to go slumming?? Was it communist plan to ruin Brazil?

I understand you have some weird trauma you have not been able to recover from but ease up a bit. You sound like any other paranoid right wing nut job when you keep ranting and raving about Hugo Chavez being involved in crack deals in Brazil, He had oil and billions. Why the FK he would sell crack on the streets of Brazil?? Oh, I get it. It was because he was a commie. Commies are always involved in drug trade. Yeap.

USA government via CIA has been the biggest organiser of international drug trade since WW2. In 1950’s they organised heroin trade from Indochina to US via cosa nostra straight into the black communities. That was the deal. That has also been documented.

In 1960’s CIA organised the heroin produced by Van Pao and his army flown from Laos to Vietnam by Air America, CIA, from where it was taken into USA by Santo Trafficante and other mobsters.

In 1960’s CIA allowed french heroin smugglers, former fascists and Vichy regime guys, bring in tons of heroin. That was so called French Connection and has also been documented.

In 1980’s CIA flew arms and weapons to the conras fighting against the sandinista government in Nicaragua. Those weapons and arms were payed by tons of cocaine, which was flown directly back to the USA by the same planes by american pilots working for CIA. Thus CIA was able to create a black money for its covert war. That is also well documented and was so called Contra Gate. The planes took off from smaller air fileds in Arkansas and flew back to those same air fields protected by Arkansas state troopers, where the cocaine was unloaded to where ever it went. At that time Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas.

In 1980’s CIA with the mujahedin of Afganistan organised tonnes of heroin brought from Afganistan to the west via Pakistan in order to get money for those brave afgans fighting against commies. Note that these same afgans which US was funding with heroin money were the same who later became Al Qaida and the taleban, and who already said in 1980’s that after USSR it is your turn. But your very own government kept on working with them in heroin trade all trough the 80’s. Those heroin routes and that business is still going on and reaching USA too.

And you are telling me that Hugo Chavez was selling crack in the streets of Brazil? Get a grip, man!

Your statistics weren’t wrong. I just saw that inflation wasn’t marked in red and thought something must be wrong, according to my knowledge of world economics of course. I do think this shows that the numbers included in this post don’t show the full story like it deserves to be told…

There are and have been many Alternative developed sources/Devices of FREE ENERGY which have taken place. Developed and produced REAL sources of practically Free Energy enough to supply ALL the world’s power needs. However, many of these sources/devices and inventions have been suppressed or their authors bought off or killed.

Dahoman x , you seperated points, people scream American imperialist but Chavez is doing the same thing…i guess you dont live with the reports of how many children get shot with lost bullets in these drug wars , and, the numbers are shocking…for sure there is a local responsiblity, but, Ive seen this coke/crack thing up close , grow to a horrible leval , and, the information incriminating Chavez, in his hand in these drug wars in South America, is huge…are you going to tell me after people blame the USA for deaths from the military dictatorships when they didnt have one shooter on the ground,that you then cant aply the same logic to Chavez? Are you a hypocrite?

Sam, you are a hypocrite. If you cant take a look at the stark reality of the valid information Ive brought in, and, condemn it the same way you condemn the CIA presence in those countries,you are bathing and wallowing in hypocracy.

If you cant take a look at the pictures of the reality of Cuban health care , and, deny my factual reality of seeing many reports of disfuntions in the public health system in Brazil , you just dont want to try to examine what could be a reality behind all these shining reports of pristine social health care in countries like Cuba…this isnt in any way saying the USA is the shining example, it is as bad in its own capatalistic way, but, this is about looking honestly at social health care systems in place by leaders like Fidel and Hugo…granted, I didnt present direct examples of Venezuela, but, with thousands of Cuban doctors in Venezuela, and, my observations of hard core reality in Brazil (absolutly its better than nothing, but, some conditions are frightening), its something worth looking at…poor people deserve health care that isnt frightening, or at least if it has a precariousness to it,you cant use it as some pristine argument.

What is really perplexing with you , Sam, is you cant really tie in that these players are part of the “one” behind it all, too..you are all too gullibly willing to buy into that it is all emanating from the USA, all the imperialism, all the elite power money people and their world ambitions…you cant seem to reach that higher leval of awareness that Castro, Chavez, the oil money that goes to Al Quaeda , the powers fueling the conflicts in Africa for natural recources, are all tied together , you cant see the blatent commodities they deal in like arms, drugs, you cant tie in that maybe they dont deal with each other but they have similar middlemen and in the case of oil, they sure do deal together…Chavez does…Middle East oil does…

You are becoming a broken record, and, if you and Dahoman X cant take a look at the extremly factual and informative information I have brought in, and, see some blatant problems and imperialistic behaviour also, then you just want to be blind to the truth

This isnt Fox news, Sam, this is real life living in South America..Im privy to news reports from news sources that have nothing to do with the USA, I saw all this information in Portuguese , first and have seen real Brazil TV reports of the real destruction of the drug wars, Farc ties to the giant gangs and actualy kidnapping Brazilian kids off the borders, and the very real decimation to Brazilian society of crack cocaine,which Brazil is the number one consumor in the world now, and direct Brazilian TV on location in Venezuela reports of food shortages in the super markets, and infrastructure problems

yeah, and we got commies down here, real communist parties, and,you see real ideaology hook ups, like the red flag parties joining together in the senate to let a communist Italian murderer,Batisti, have official asylum in Brazil while they shipped two Cuban boxers back to Fidel who were trying to defect to Brazil…should have gone to Miami…no all Brazil isnt commie, but they have the real deal here tying to shove their ideaology down your throat

If you want to be a blind ostrach hiding your head in the sand about it, you go ahead Sam

I absolutly love my education living down here in Brazil, I wouldnt trade it for anything….I can see both sides of the dirt and hypocracy, I have always acknowledged USA dirt, but can you, or you Dahoman, dare look at the dirt down here in South America?

I brought in fax and reality and all you can do, Sam is go back into your “the CIA did this” schtick?WAKE UP

“Castro, Chavez, the oil money that goes to Al Quaeda , the powers fueling the conflicts in Africa for natural recources, are all tied together , you cant see the blatent commodities they deal in like arms,” I want to clarify I mean “together” with the elite power brokers in the USA behind the scenes , dealing in dirty arms deals and desicions about oil

Its not like the “bildaborg group” or what ever their name is, is talking with Fidel and Hugo, but, they are tied together like some kind of interconnected world wide fungus, that really controls the ebb and flow of power moves out here

…speaking of commies, Sam, I guess North Korrea threatening to nuke anyone in sight was just a bad dream I was having…
yeah, I know it was drama for nothing, but, I wish these tired @ss flawed , marxist power mongers would just crawl back under a rock

Just when guys like you try to psyche us into thinking its dead , these chumps keep coming back to remind us of their dogmad ideaological ambitions…

two page scathing article about what Chavez has really meant to aspects of his social revolution….you all can tell me if you think its slanted…its not a very pretty picture at all….we dont have those kind of food shortages in Brazil

For some reason US health care did not take care of all of those heroic firefighters of 911 at all but commie Cuba did so, for free, because in Cuba health care is for free for all. Not just for cubans. But I know it is really wrong, its communism, it diabolical to have free health care for the people. That is the worst thing in the world!! Ever!

And on that note, my friend, where did I defended communism? Do not put stuff in my mouth, any stuff. I don’t like it. You may enjoy that, I don’t. You have called me a communist hyporcyte many times, despite that I have told you I am not communist. You, of all people, should know that I have seen the communism much more than you have ever seen. I visited USSR, the evil empire itself. Did you??

I lived right next to USSR when it was big enough to make guys like you poop into your scary pants. I was in the army that was face to face with all the might of Red army every single day. And all the while, scary pants like you were throwing tandrums somewhere behind the oceans, screaming on the top of your lungs about the communist treath. We looked at it from 200 yards, and they were there. The tanks, the guns, and thousands of men.

My grandfathers, both, and other relatives fought against that treath for years. One was wounded once, other twice. My mothers family lost all they had because USSR. Read history and come back again with your “Chavez was Al-Qaida” poop.

I know and knew what communism was all about. I served my country in the military. I was ready to fight against them with every thing I got. I have faced it 24/7. These were the days when the Red army was fighting in Afganistan, you know, when your CIA was supporting Osama and his buddies with organising international heroin trade fro their benefit.

So, I have visited USSR, I was ready to repel it if need be for real with real guns. Have you done anything like that with the commies? Or are you just one of those guys who watch too much tv and read too much lowsy papers and go on day after day about the evils of communism without doing a turd about it themselves?

If you are such an anti-communist and they such an threat, why not pick up a gun and go somewhere to do something about, or at least be prepared to do something if things happen? Why not put your life on the line?

You know, it makes you look at things a bit differently when you have actually looked at those missiles pointed at you. It makes things real. It puts stuff in perspective. When you know that if things go bad and you may have few hours life time in that case, you have to make choices. Do I stay here? Or do I come up with something else?

I and many others chose to stay. Most of finnish guys did and still do. For us fighting communists, the Red Army, was a realistic scenario. It was no a bad dream or horror story. It was a fact of life. They had invaded Tshekoslovakia 1968. Afganistan in 1980. Poland. They occupied the Baltic states.

They were threaning us every few months or so, putting on a pressure on our government to “invite the Red Army in joint military excersises”. That is how it was back then and I was a soldier in the army that would have had to fight them if they ever had decided to move.

And I had made up my mind. I had a gun in my hand. I was ready. I was willing. If the worst scenario would have come to reality I would have lived roughly two hours. But I would have fought with all I got.

Sam, show me one post where I called you a communist…just one…I never even said you support communism…I said you are hypocritical for criticising the USA , but wont aply the same logic to what Chavez or Fidel do…you buy into the anti American bias that if they say the right things and put on some show of pseudo health care and education, and, after the links I brought in about Cuba health care, if anyone still accepts that blindly, I just cant help them, you are all too willing to defend them…notice I said American health care is as bad in its own way…

and you will chide me for bringing up cold war referances to the communist threat but bring in huge accounts of the CIA cold war exploits

and I noted you understand this dynamic with the USSR, and you have a great grasp of European history and a very good traveling experiance in various places , but, knowing this communist threat, you go on disconnect when understanding the USA was doing its dirt to counter this communist threat…and it was dirty and Ill fully admit that…but every one was dirty, even the two oposing sides in these countries that invited in the super powers to help them , arm them, fincance them and support them on the ground when that happened.

I see a huge hypocracy in South America, I live with it, and I see these distortions of the truth and the brainwashed hate formulated at the USA, and, moving there 26 years ago , as an American, has forced me to go deeply into the reality, the reality of the dirt the USa did there and the real threat of people who wanted to bring about a Che revolution in many countries there…

That is what I am doing, pointing out the hypocracies and bringing in true information about it…

I apreciete your experiances on the line looking at USSR troops in the face, I have said that before , I know violence in a differant way, gang violence, Ive ducked real bullets shot my way, Ive been attaced by gang members in two cities in the USA, and defended myself , dont ever think I m some panty waste, that would be a big mistake on your part…No Im not going off to the jungle to fight farc, but I am going to forcefully point out exactly what they did and the very real hookup with Farc and Chavez and how it affects the country where I live in a big way, a way that isnt really talked about anywhere, but it sure is real , and I have proved it beyond a doubt…give me some credit.

Sam. we are banging heads hard on this, you have to realise, I a mcoming from serious life experiance about this, that is why what I am saying is nothing like Fox news or a right wing American passing gas on his provincial views ..its serious information that you can either digest and tweak it into your word view, or ignore it …its up to you…I have nothing against you personaly

Thanks for this post. Chávez did enormous good and should be measured by that. I have seen a mountain of lies put out about him since his passing, but have also seen a lot of good people trying to put out the truth.

This link needs to be right here…for sure, when Fidel dies, we will be having this discusion all over…

Yes, I am questioning all the hype about Fidel and Chave’s pristine health care systems and the education they are giving

People keep talking about how chavez brought people out of poverty, a huge part of the whole underdeveloped world had great uplifts out of poverty during that period Chavez was in office…Brazil, China, India, etc etc

I think if you read the link I brought in about carrying the body of Chavez throught the slums in Caracas to the museum it will be held in, is not a pretty site of any kind of up lift out of poverty…

Yes, I do question that hype….and, at the same time, I think anything to try to help the poor these countries is a good thing and I do think the powers before were equaly as bad

but, they tout the rampant prostitution in Batistas Cuba, I even watched a two hour interview with Fidel and he touts that the loudest, but, rampant prostitution , and, in some cases underage prostituion for gringos, is still in serious effect in Cuba